Messages of K. Mitsotakis in Brussels and the danger of the revival of populism

By Dimitris Gatsios

At a time when the tsunami of energy precision and price increases on a range of consumer goods is hitting household and business budgets on a daily basis, the government continues to send signals of continued support to society and, above all, the most vulnerable. to turn to the extraordinary Summit at the end of May. When the “27” leaders of the European Union will be called upon to take decisions to “shield” millions of consumers, judging, in essence, the fate of the often expressed, mainly by the countries of the South, position on “common answers” to a common problem “.

Megaro Maximou and financial staff are constantly considering plans for a next field of interventions, the focus is on the implementation of the measures that will start… running within the next twenty-four hours and Mr. Mitsotakis did not fail to… ring bells in Brussels, not only for need to stand on the side of European consumers, but also for the possibility that a crisis of this magnitude (after the two-year global pandemic adventure) could be the trigger for the rise of populism to a pan-European level. “We need to mobilize European resources to help all Member States tackle this problem. If that does not happen, for whatever reason, then it will be up to the Member States to spend more money to support businesses and households.” We will do this in Greece, it will have financial implications, and I hope we can do that at European level. If we do not do that, we will allow the forces of populism in Europe to re-emerge stronger. “Ukraine and against Russia, it would be a terrible, terrible mistake if, for economic reasons, we lose the support of our peoples, because they will suffer from this invasion as intensely as the Russian people,” was his characteristic disgust. in the context of his interventions at the Economic Forum of Delphi.

More or less, what becomes apparent is that Athens expects a series of moves from Brussels, which will send the message of adopting interventions to stem the energy crisis. However, moving towards May and since by the middle of next month the Union’s open intention to take concrete action at the extraordinary Summit has not been clear, it is not ruled out that the government will adopt a next stage of support for households and businesses, mainly focused on relief from increases in electricity bills. “We have to be honest. We have a gas market that is not working. While supply and demand forces have not been disrupted, gas prices have skyrocketed. At the same time, we have € 230 billion in unused loans in the Recovery Fund and I believe that we need to be extremely creative and, with the help of the European Commission, think about how we can use these loans, which the Member States have not shown interest in. help us deal with high energy prices, but also help some Member States deal with the refugee crisis. We did this in 2020 with the Recovery and Resilience Fund and it was a huge to success “, noted Mr. Mitsotakis.

Answers to the needs of citizens

In a time parallel to the movements on the front of energy self-sufficiency and security, the demand has to do with the ever-increasing needs of the citizens, in a period of intense liquidity and anxiety.

Stimulating the government’s social profile is, according to executives, another big bet. How is this going to be done; As they observe, the next wave of decisions related to subsidies for electricity and gas is coming, with the second increase of the minimum wage (the relevant announcements will be made on May 1 by the Prime Minister) with the strengthening of the income of the weakest through the emergency aid of 200 euros, which will be given before Easter, with the program for housing for young people, with the bill for primary health care, which will come to Parliament after Easter.

“Energy security, green transition and social policy are the two fronts of the coming months,” say factors. And this, according to information, will be reflected in the context that Mr. Mitsotakis will set at the 14th Congress of New Democracy.

At the same time, despite the growing rumors that VAT is being reduced on basic consumer goods, the Maximos Palace is still wary of such a direction. The question, after all, as executives comment, is that any moves have a direct positive impact on household budgets, always in combination with the necessary fiscal balance.